The landmark former Nestle Tower in Croydon and the nearby St George’s Walk development site been bought by a Chinese property firm in a deal worth around £60million.
R&F Developments have bought the 200,000 sq ft tower which has been vacant since the food and drinks giant moved out in 2012.
It is the Chinese firm’s first acquisition in Europe and comes complete with planning permission for 288 new homes in what is officially known as St George’s Tower as well as a further 800 units on the site of an existing shopping mall which includes RISEgallery.
Xia Ning of R&F told Property Week: “As a newcomer to the UK market we are excited to bring our expertise and enthusiasm to this significant town centre scheme.
“We aspire to provide positive real estate schemes across the world and look forward to working closely with the local community, businesses and stakeholders to deliver the most appropriate scheme for the benefit of the borough.”
Both sites were previously owned by Minerva, which had bought the vacant Tower from L&G for £10million as recently as 2015.
“Having spent the last couple of years investing in the overall Queens Square site, we now believe this is the right time for another party to deliver this vitally important project for Croydon,” said a Minerva spokesman.
“The St George’s House planning permission has been implemented, existing Section 106 agreement revised and a masterplan has been prepared and discussed with Croydon Council.
“It will now be for R&F Properties to consider the most appropriate way to bring the scheme forward. However, we have no doubt the result will be something the town can be proud of and we look forward to following progress whilst we focus on our other landholdings in the area.”